Unveiled for the first time as concept studies at the Paris Motor Show in October, with the North American debut taking place at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, the new Elise, Esprit, Elite, Elan are a wild bunch. And while we don't have anything new to add about the four sports coupes, Lotus has unleashed a beautiful photo gallery shot in Hollywood, which you can enjoy in high-resolution quality right after the jump.
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As you may have guessed, the collection of photos is called "Metamorphosis" and the focus is on the five new Lotus models that made the trip to this year's Paris Motor Show: the Esprit, Elan, Elite, Elise and Eterne, plus two extra large montages.
Lotus Cars Australia Managing Director John Startari explains: "The government's import duty reduction at the start of 2010 has offered some assistance, whilst favorable foreign exchange rates have been a further catalyst to these announced price changes."
The facelifted model can be recognized by the new fascia up front that boasts a redesigned hood, new bumper with a wider grille, and reshaped headlights featuring LED daytime running lights for the first time.
Like many other niche automakers, Lotus has a thing for special edition models. The latest one to come out of Hethel is the Elise S-based Club Racer (CR) and it will be displayed for the first time at the Frankfurt motorshow. Although it retains the base model's Toyota-sourced 1.8-liter engine and five-speed gearbox which is good for a 0 to 60mph sprint time of 5.7 sec (0-100km/h: 6.1") while returning 37.2 mpg UK or 7.6 lt/100km on the combined cycle, the CR introduces new color schemes, bespoke interior and lightweight components.The Elise Club Racer will be offered with four classic color schemes used by Lotus in the 1960s - Elite Yellow, Carbon Grey, Sky Blue and Old English White. The lightweight anthracite six-spoke alloy wheels that are shod in bespoke Yokohama AD07 LTS tires round off the special edition model's... unchanged looks.
The exterior body color theme is carried over to the interior and is combined with silver and black paint highlights while the seats get lightweight microfibre comfort pads.
Other treats include the anthracite anodised gear knob and handbrake lever, the Club Racer (CR) logo hand embroidered on the seat headrest and the unique anodized aluminium flooring in the driver's and passenger's footwell.
"Special Editions of the award winning Elise have always proved popular with our customers around the world, and I expect the Elise Club Racer to be no different," said Luke Bennett, Director of Lotus Cars. "We have taken color schemes from our past, used on the Elite and Elan in the 1960s and cleverly brought them up to date with a modern feel to the interior. The whole design package is modern with a classic twist, which of course matches the peerless ride and handling of a Lotus and the convertible experience of the Elise perfectly."
The special edition Club Racer goes on sale in Europe on September 15 with retail prices set at €34,475 in Belgium, €34,175 in France, € 34,770 in Italy, CHF 48,820 in Switzerland, €33,125 in Germany and £25,712 in the UK.
North American owners of naturally aspirated Elise and Exige models can now add a little more oomph to their cars without worrying about voiding the warranty as Lotus USA has announced the availability of a factory engineered, warranted and 50-state legal supercharger kit. Utilizing the same supercharger and integrated intake manifold unit as fitted to a production Elise SC, the kit can be installed on any naturally aspirated Elise or Exige powered by a Toyota 2ZZ-GE engine. 
The package, which includes a compact supercharger and integrated intake manifold along with new high-flow fuel injectors and a re-programmed engine management control unit, increases output from 189 HP to 218 HP while torque jumps from 133 ft.-lbs. up to 155 ft.-lbs. More importantly, the increased maximum torque is available at a lower 5,000 rpm instead of the naturally aspirated 6,800 rpm.
"Lotus Elise and Exige owners are genuine driving enthusiasts and that's what has attracted them to Lotus cars in the first place," said Lotus Cars USA, Inc. Director of Operations Arnie Johnson. "They will fully appreciate the dramatically enhanced driving character these Lotus Supercharger Kits will bring their vehicles and the peace of mind from a fully warranted, factory engineered kit."
While Lotus has not announced pricing yet, the British firm said that the Supercharger Kit is available for purchase and installation at all authorized Lotus dealers in the U.S. and Canada.
Fancy taking a Lotus Elise SC for a spin? Well, if you're either a permanent resident or planning to visit Italy as a tourist, you'll be happy to know that Lotus has announced a new agreement with the car hire company Hertz Italiana to supply a bunch of yellow Elise SC for its rental business in Italy. The two-seater roadsters will be available to hire from central Hertz centers throughout the country beginning from the middle of July. 
"For many, to drive a Lotus is to fulfill a lifelong dream and now, thanks to Lotus and Hertz Italiana S.p.A. this dream can be realised for a longer period than just a quick test drive at a Lotus dealer," said Andrea Manni, director of the official Lotus dealer, 'Lotus Rome'
"We expect some drivers who hire an Elise or Exige from Hertz Italiana S.p.A to visit a Lotus dealership afterwards, as once you have experienced the exciting and adrenaline fueled capabilities of a Lotus, there is no turning back," Manni added.
As most of you may already know, the all-electric Tesla Roadster is based on the Lotus Elise with which its shares numerous parts including the rear hub flange bolts that have been deemed defective. According to the NHTSA, on some vehicles the bolts may be under-torqued and could become loose. The two companies issued separate notifications on the matter with Tesla saying that the recall affects 345 Roadster models manufactured between March 2008 and April 22, 2009 (out of a total of 400 cars sold until May 2009) while Lotus is recalling 27 Elise and Exige vehicles built from January 14 through May 5, 2009.Both recalls are expected to begin in June. Tesla owners may contact the company at 1-877-888-3752 while Exige and Elise drivers can call Lotus at 1-800-245-6887.
You'd think that, since the Elise and Exige models are pure-bred sportscars, Lotus wouldn't care much about improving their eco-credentials. Well, apparently that's not the case with Lotus as the British automaker has performed various tweaks on both cars' powertrains and aerodynamics helping the 2010MY Elise and Exige give up to a 9% reduction in CO2 emissions and similar increases in fuel economy.
According to Lotus' Spartan press release, on the combined cycle, the Elise S shows the greatest improvement in fuel efficiency offering an increase of 3.2mpg UK or 2.7mpg US (a decrease of 0.7 l/100km), from 34.0 mpg UK or 28.3 mpg US (8.3 l/100 km) to 37.mpg UK or 31mpg US (7.6 l/100km)
Mike Kimberley, CEO of Group Lotus plc, stated, "The Lotus philosophy of performance through light weight is even more relevant in today's emission focused ecological world. This design philosophy has enabled Lotus to offer fantastic levels of performance, with Lotus cars being some of the greenest performance cars on the market".
The new 2010 model year Elise and Exige are on sale now at Lotus dealers in the UK.
Elise S:179 g/km CO2
Elise R: 196 g/km CO2
Elise SC: 199 g/km CO2
Exige S: 199 g/km CO2
